Compact disc mailer

ABSTRACT

The present invention comprises a card, such as a post card suitable for use in the postal system. The card is generally cardboard, or any other paper based product, however any suitable material may be used and is considered to be within the scope of the invention. The card further comprises an attachment side and a postage side. The attachment side serves to receive and retain a compact disc, and the postage side is used for address and postage stamps.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to postcards, and more particularly tocompact disc mailers to be used as postcards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Discs that store information in formats suitable for use by electronicdevices have become a popular choice for businesses hoping to reach awide range of consumers. The compact disc's capacity to store a largeamount of data provides a means to deliver substantial and effectiveaudio and visual presentations to current and prospective customers.Additionally, compact discs are also a popular choice in the computerand entertainment industries. Furthermore, digital video discs alsoserve to store substantial amounts of audio and visual data.

Generally, businesses wishing to send the aforementioned discs toprospective and new customers engage in mail campaigns, wherein a largenumber of discs are sent through the mail. Mailers designed specificallyfor sending discs through the mail are known. One such device is thefolded paper board CD carrier compact disc mailer is the disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 6,637,588. The patent discloses a device for carrying acompact disc having a blank formed from a single piece of paper boardstock, wherein the blank has a plurality of fold lines dividing theblank into a plurality of panels. The first and second panels arefoldable along a first fold line to a confronting position, wherein thepanels serve to form a pocket when in the confronting position. One ofthe aforementioned panels defines a receiving area having a receivingaperture. An additional panel is foldable along second fold lines to afolded position overlying the receiving area. The panel includes anelongated protrusion sized for insertion through the receiving apertureand into the pocket. A compact disc may be secured adjacent thereceiving by inserting the elongated protrusion through the centralaperture of the compact disc, through the receiving aperture, and intothe pocket.

An additional device for mailing compact discs is the mailableassemblage with flexible appendages and method of fabrication disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,434,867. The Patent discloses a device having threesubassembly layers combined via adhesive to form the mailer. The centersubassembly is sandwiched between and protrudes from the front and backexterior assemblies. The center subassembly is made from variouslyshaped materials and the container subassembly houses the postcard.

Postcards typically come in standard sizes, and are constructed of asingle flat page or card. Generally, one side of the postcard isreserved for postal information such as, the name and address to whichthe postcard is being sent, the required postage. The other side oftenincludes a picture, or written information for the recipient. Because ofthe relatively low price to send postcards, they have become theshipment method of choice for those sending out large quantities ofmail. Attempts have been made at construction postcards that holdcompact discs. One such attempt is the postcard for carrying compactdisk disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,654. The patent discloses apostcard for carrying a disk through the mail, wherein the postcard hasa first sheet containing on its front side an area for an image ormessage, and a clear plastic pocket for attaching a disk. The postcardincludes a filler card and optionally an insert sheet. The postcard iscovered by a transparent plastic layer applied by a shrink wrap processenclosing the first sheet, filler card, and insert. The area forproviding postal information is a paper label applied adhesively to theback side of the postcard over the transparent plastic layer.

The aforementioned compact disc mailers are essentially either envelopesthat serve to contain the discs, or require a shrink wrap process toattach the disc to card. These methods are fairly expensive, andoriginators planning to engage in a substantial mailing campaign canexpect to incur excessive costs in both postage and packaging.

Additionally, another limitation shared by most compact disc mailers isthat the disc itself is rarely exposed to the target recipient. Thismethod curtails the originators from using the design or picture on theface of the compact disc to assist in communicating a message to therecipient. Since it is vital for the disc contained in the mailer to bewell received and utilized by the target recipient, it is detrimental tokeep the disc obscured within the mailer.

Therefore, what is needed in the art is a compact disc mailer that isrelatively inexpensive to both produce and ship through the mail.

Furthermore, what is needed in the art is compact disc mailer whereinthe design or picture on the face of the disc is visible to therecipient of the disc upon receipt of the mailer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an improved compact disc mailer that isinexpensive to both produce and ship through the mail.

The present invention further provides an improved compact disc mailerwherein a design or picture on the face of the disc is visible to therecipient of the disc upon receipt of the mailer.

The present invention comprises a paper card in the form of a postcardcapable of securely holding a compact disc throughout the mailingprocess. More particularly, the present invention comprises a cardhaving a pair of integral tabs spaced along said card wherein said tabsserve to contain said compact disc thereby securing said compact disc tothe card.

An additional embodiment of the present invention comprises a paper cardhaving a pair of integral grooves, wherein each one of said pair ofintegral grooves is contoured to match the outer contour of the compactdisc to be attached to said paper card. The paper card further comprisesa plurality of wafer seals to thereby serve as an attaching means forsecuring said compact disc to said card. A wafer seal is typically asmall adhesive disc commonly used as an attaching means for items sentthrough the mail. While the disc shape wafer seal is most common,various other shapes are known and are within the scope of theinvention. It is further contemplated that the exposed face of the discshall contain a portion of design or picture and the paper card alsoshall contain a portion of a design or picture wherein the two portionsof designs or pictures combine to form a single design or picture whenthe compact disc is attached to the card.

An advantage of the present invention is that it requires less materialthan conventional compact disc mailers thereby availing it to thebenefit of the lower postage fees.

Another advantage of the present invention is that the mailer is capableof securely holding the compact disc without any additional securingdevices such as, shrink wrap. This serves to reduce costs associatedwith preparing the compact disc mailer.

A further advantage of the present invention is that the face of thecompact disc is exposed during shipping, thereby allowing for moredistinctive packaging that serves to entice the recipient into removingand using the compact disc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this invention,and the manner of attaining them, will become apparent and be morecompletely understood by reference to the following description of theembodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevated view of a first embodiment of the compact discmailer of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevated view of a compact disc for use in the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is an elevated view of a first embodiment of the compact discmailer of the present invention with compact disc attached thereto;

FIG. 4 is an elevated view of a second embodiment of the compact discmailer of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an elevated view of a particular embodiment of the compactdisc mailer of the present invention with compact disc attached thereto;and

FIG. 6 is an elevated view of the first embodiment of the presentinvention prior to final assembly.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. The exemplifications set out hereinillustrate embodiments of the invention, and such exemplifications arenot to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention in anymanner.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to FIG. 1 an elevated view of a first embodiment of thecompact disc mailer 10 of the present invention is shown. While thespecification refers to the mailer as a compact disc mailer, othersuitable discs, such as digital video discs, are considered to be withinthe scope of the invention.

The first embodiment 10 of the present invention comprises a card, suchas a post card suitable for use in the postal system. The card isgenerally cardboard, or any other paper based product, however anysuitable material may be used and is considered to be within the scopeof the invention. The card further comprises an attachment side 11 and apostage side. The attachment side 11 serves to receive and retain acompact disc. The postage side 12 is used for address and postagestamps. The attachment side 11 of the compact disc mailer 10 has anattachment side surface 13 that includes a first tab 14 and a second tab15, wherein the first tab 14 and second tab 15 are integral with theattachment side surface 13.

The first tab 14 further comprises a first tab inner surface 16 and saidsecond tab 15 further comprises a second tab inner surface 17, whereinsaid first tab inner surface 16 and said second tab inner surface 17 areadjacent to said attachment side surface 13, and serve to provide a pairof receptacles between said first tab 14 and said attachment sidesurface 13 and said second tab 15 and said attachment side surface 13respectively. As illustrated in FIG. 1, said first tab 14 and saidsecond tab 15 are positioned an appropriate distance from each other tosecure opposing ends of a compact disc to said postcard. If differentsize discs are used or otherwise become available, the distance betweenthe two tabs may vary accordingly.

Generally the invention is designed to accommodate a variety of discs.One such disc 20 is illustrated in FIG. 2. In addition to thetraditional round shape which is most commonly known, compact discs canbe produced in a variety of shapes. Businesses often create customshaped compact discs to suite their particular needs. The disc 20 ofFIG. 2 is a non-standard shaped disc comprising a perimeter 21 havingtwo opposing substantially flat sides 22 and two opposing curved sides23. This particular configuration is preferable for the presentinvention because the opposing flat sides 22 conform to the outerperimeter 18 of the compact disc mailer, as illustrated in FIG. 3.

Referring again to FIG. 1 first tab 14 and the second tab 15 serve toprovide a pocket and a flap respectively. More particularly, the firsttab 14 further comprises an outer substantially rectangular first tabperimeter 24 wherein three sides 25, 26, and 27 of said outersubstantially rectangular first tab perimeter 24 are fixedly attached tosaid attachment side surface 13, and one side 28 remains open therebyforming a pocket for receiving a first end 29 of a compact disc 20.

Additionally, the second tab 15 further comprises an outer substantiallyrectangular second tag perimeter 30, wherein one side 31 of saidsubstantially rectangular perimeter is attached to said attachment sidesurface 13, and the three remaining sides 32, 33, and 34 of the secondtag perimeter 30 remain unattached, to thereby serve as a flap forholding a second end 35 of said compact disc 20 securely therebetween.

Referring again to FIG. 3, an illustration of the compact disc mailer 10of the present invention and the associated compact disc 20 attachedthereto, are shown. Generally the compact disc 20 is attached to thedisc mailer 10 of the present invention by inserting the first end 29 ofthe compact disc 20 into the first tab 14 or pocket formed in thecompact disc mailer 10. Once the first end 29 of the compact disc 20 issecurely in the first tab 14 or pocket as shown, the second end 35 ofthe compact disc is placed below the second tab 15 or flap. This isaccomplished by raising said second tab 15, or flap and allowing thesecond end 35 of the compact disc to rest on the attachment side surface13. When the second end 35 of the compact disc is in place, the secondtab or flap is released, thereby holding the second end 35 of thecompact disc securely in place.

An additional embodiment of the compact disc mailer 35 of the presentinvention is illustrated in FIG. 4. The additional embodiment 35 of thepresent invention comprises a paper card 36 having a pair of integralgrooves 37 a and 37 b, wherein each one of said pair of integral groovessaid 37 a and 37 b is contoured to match the perimeter or outer contour23 of the compact disc 20 (FIG. 2) to be attached to said paper card 36.The elongated paper card 36 further comprises a pair of wafer seals 38 aand 38 b to thereby serve as an attaching means for securing saidcompact disc 20 to said card 36. A wafer seal is typically a smalladhesive disc commonly used as an attaching means for items sent throughthe mail. While disc shaped wafer seals are shown, various other shapesare known and are within the scope of the invention. Additionally, whilethe embodiment shown utilizes two wafer seals, any number of wafer sealscapable of securing the disc 20 to the card 36 may be used.

Referring now to FIG. 5 an additional embodiment 39 is contemplatedwherein the exposed face of the disc 40 shall contain a portion ofdesign or picture 41 and the paper card 36 also shall contain a portionof a design or picture 42 wherein the aforementioned portions of designsor pictures 41 and 42, combine to form a single design or picture whenthe compact disc 20 is attached to the elongated card 36. While theimage is shown on the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, it isalso within the scope of the invention to include the aforementionedimage technique to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

Referring now to FIG. 6 an elevated view of the first embodiment of thepresent invention prior to final assembly 43 is shown. Moreparticularly, the illustration shows unassembled compact disc mailer 43having a flap portion 51 and a pocket portion 52. The unassembledcompact disc mailer 43 is constructed from a single card comprising aplurality of folds in both the flap portion 51 and the pocket portion52. The flap portion 51 further comprises a flap end fold 44, a flapfold 45, a flap lower surface 47, and a flap attachment surface 46. Theflap attachment surface 46 is generally the lower surface of the flapportion 51 between the flap end fold 44 and the flap fold 45. The flapis formed by attaching the aforementioned flap attachment surface 46 tothe compact disc mailer upper surface 53. The flap attachment surface 46and the compact disc mailer upper surface can be held together by glueor any suitable material capable of bonding such material. The flaplower surface 47 shall remain unattached to the compact disc mailerupper surface 53, thereby providing a means for assisting in coveringand retaining the compact disc as illustrated in FIG. 3.

The pocket portion 52 comprises a plurality of folds, a pocket end fold48, and a pair of pocket attachment folds 49. The pair of pocket attachfolds are positioned between the pocket outer surface 54 and pair ofpocket attachment surfaces 50. To assemble the pocket the pair of pocketattachment surfaces 50 are folded inward so that they may be placed incommunication with compact disc mailer upper surface 53. The pair ofpocket attachment surfaces 50 and the compact disc mailer upper surface53 can be held together by glue, or any suitable material capable ofbonding such material. The pocket inner surface 55 is the portionbetween the pair of pocket attachment folds 49 on the lower side of thepocket segment 52. The pocket inner surface 55 shall remain unattachedto the compact disc mailer upper surface 53, thereby providing a pocketfor retaining the compact disc as illustrated in FIG. 3.

While this invention has been described as having a particularembodiment, the present invention can be further modified within thespirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is thereforeintended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the presentinvention using the general principles disclosed herein. Further, thisapplication is intended to cover such departures from the presentdisclosure as come within the known or customary practice in the art towhich this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of theappended claims.

1. An improved postcard for sending compact discs through the mailcomprising: a card having an attachment side and a postage side; saidattachment side having an attachment side surface; said attachment sidesurface having a first tab and a second tab integral with saidattachment side surface; said first tab having first tab inner surfaceand said second tab having a second tab inner surface, wherein saidfirst tab inner surface and said second tab inner surface are adjacentto said attachment side and serve to provide a pair of receptaclesbetween said first tab and said attachment side and said second tab andsaid attachment side respectively; and said first tab and said secondtab are separated an appropriate distance to secure opposing ends of acompact disc to said postcard.
 2. The improved postcard of claim 1wherein said compact disc is a substantially rectangular compact disc.3. The improved postcard of claim 1 wherein said compact disc furthercomprises a perimeter having two opposing substantially flat sides andtwo opposing curved sides.
 4. The improved postcard of claim 1 furthercomprising: a compact disc having a compact disc outer surface, whereinsaid compact disc outer surface further comprises a compact disc imagesegment; said first tab, said second tab, and said attachment sidesurface comprise an attachment side image segment; and said compact discimage segment and said attachment side image segment combine to form asingle image when said compact disc is secured to said improvedpostcard.
 5. The improved postcard of claim 1 wherein said first tabfurther comprises a pocket, and said second tab comprises a flap.
 6. Theimproved postcard of claim 1 wherein said first tab further comprises anouter substantially rectangular perimeter wherein three sides of saidouter substantially rectangular perimeter of said first tab are fixedlyattached to said attachment side surface thereby forming a pocket forreceiving a first end of a compact disc, and said second tab furthercomprises an outer substantially rectangular perimeter wherein one sideof said substantially rectangular perimeter is attached to saidattachment side to thereby serve as a flap for holding a second end ofsaid compact disc securely therebetween.
 7. An improved compact discmailer comprising: an attachment side and a postage side wherein saidattachment side further comprises a means for attaching and retaining acompact disc.
 8. The improved postcard of claim 7 wherein said compactdisc is a substantially rectangular compact disc.
 9. The improvedpostcard of claim 7 wherein said compact disc further comprises aperimeter having two opposing substantially flat sides and two opposingcurved sides.
 10. The improved postcard of claim 7 wherein saidattachment side of said improved postcard further comprises: a pair ofintegral grooves, wherein each one of said pair of integral grooves iscontoured to match the outer contour of the outer perimeter of thecompact disc to be attached to said improved postcard.
 11. The improvedpostcard of claim 7 wherein said attachment side of said improvedpostcard further comprises at least one wafer seal for attaching andretaining said compact disc to said improved postcard.
 12. The improvedpostcard of claim 7 wherein said attachment side of said improvedpostcard further comprises a plurality of wafer seals for attaching andretaining said compact disc to said improved postcard.
 13. The improvedpostcard of claim 7 further comprising; a compact disc having a compactdisc outer surface, wherein said compact disc outer surface furthercomprises a compact disc image segment; said first tab, said second tab,and said attachment side surface comprise an attachment side imagesegment; and said compact disc image segment and said attachment sideimage segment combine to form a single image when said compact disc issecured to said improved postcard.
 14. A method of attaching a compactdisc to a compact disc mailer comprising the steps of: inserting a firstend of a compact disc into a pocket formed on an attachment side of acompact disc mailer; inserting the second end of said compact disc undera flap wherein said flap is integral with said attachment side of saidcompact disc; and attaching said compact disc to said compact discmailer.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein said compact disc is asubstantially rectangular compact disc.
 16. The method of claim 14wherein said compact disc further comprises a perimeter having twoopposing substantially flat sides and two opposing curved sides.
 17. Themethod of claim 14 wherein said pocket further comprises an outersubstantially rectangular perimeter wherein three sides of said outersubstantially rectangular perimeter of said pocket are fixedly attachedto said attachment side surface thereby forming said pocket forreceiving a first end of a compact disc, and said flap further comprisesan outer substantially rectangular perimeter wherein one side of saidsubstantially rectangular perimeter is attached to said attachment sideto thereby serve as said flap for holding said second end of saidcompact disc securely between said flap and said attachment side.
 18. Animproved postcard for sending compact discs through the mail comprising:a card having an attachment side and a postage side; said attachmentside having an attachment side surface; and said attachment side surfacehaving a first tab and a second tab integral with said attachment sidesurface, wherein said first tab and said second tab serve to secure thecompact disc to said improved postcard.